


Secrets

by CC99trialanderrorgirl



Series: Nose Ring 'Verse [3]
Category: Eureka (TV)
Genre: Gratuitous descriptions of Nathan, M/M, Nathan Stark has a nose ring, Partially a character study of Nathan, Piercings, he's so fascinating, nose rings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-17
Updated: 2020-01-17
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:54:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22293643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CC99trialanderrorgirl/pseuds/CC99trialanderrorgirl
Summary: Nathan Stark secretly wears a nose ring. This is one way Jack Carter might find out.
Relationships: Jack Carter/Nathan Stark
Series: Nose Ring 'Verse [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1604704
Comments: 4
Kudos: 38





	Secrets

**Author's Note:**

> Note, this is part of the Nose Ring 'Verse but is not part of "Noses and Knowing" so you can read it as a standalone

There’s a secret side of Nathan Stark that no one else knows. Not Allison, not Henry, not a single one of his mousy assistants. Nobody. At work and in public, Nathan dresses his impressive physique in form-fitting suits, well-tailored coats, and lace-up brogues. He styles his hair in a classic fashion, and sticks to masculine colors and patterns for his ties and pocket squares. He is absolutely in charge and his sartorial choices say so.

But Nathan hasn’t always been so buttoned-up. In fact, Nathan’s entire personality is heavily defined by his rebellious, impulsive side. He isn’t friendly, and despite his fashion choices, he isn’t a traditionalist, either. Nathan lives to push boundaries. That doesn’t apply exclusively to science.

But he’s careful. At work, he only lets it show in ways that can help him. His domineering demeanor, his pioneering theories, and his fearless devotion to pushing the envelope of scientific experimentation. He lets it show a little bit, too, in his hobbies. He works out a lot. He takes care of his body, but he also just craves the stimulation. Nathan also loves his car and drives it very recklessly. He’d actually prefer that people not know about that, but something has to give somewhere. Nathan’s one less-than-helpful concession to his risk-taking personality is his immature, irresponsible driving style. Always too fast, always pushing it too far. But he’s managed to cap it at that, though, and really, his aggressive driving isn’t too incongruous with the way he presents himself at work, and it doesn’t get in the way of him being taken seriously. So he allows it.

But there’s more to it than that.

When he gets home, Nathan sheds his professional persona. He puts his suit away, hangs his wool peacoat, and places his leather brogues on the custom shoe rack in his entryway. Then he splashes his face and goes to his chest of drawers. The topmost compartment is accessible only with a 9-digit passcode and a quick thumb scan. Nathan is the only one with the access information. It opens to reveal an array of personal items. Hair gel, black eyeliner, and a few men’s fashion rings are in there. But most significant is the titanium red nose ring sitting on a soft black cloth. Nathan reaches up and removes the all but invisible spacer from his nose and replaces it with the red nose ring. Then he musses his hair and applies gel so it stays in disarray. He seals the compartment before opening the bottom drawer and moving a stack of white t-shirts. Underneath the generics lies Nathan’s band t-shirt collection. He whooshes out a breath as he pulls out an old black Van Halen t-shirt. It’s tight and fading, and it looks extremely flattering on Nathan’s toned body. Next, he pulls on a pair of torn-up skinny jeans that show off his long legs and hug his thighs and ass. He doesn’t bother to put on socks or shoes, opting to pad barefoot through the house instead. There’s a red and white Fender Stratocaster leaned against the wall in his closet, a pristine Les Paul in its case on the top shelf, and a skateboard in his garage.

As he passes the mirror in his entrance hall, Nathan catches a glimpse of himself and smiles. This is how he sees himself on the inside; it’s always such a pleasant relief to see it reflected outwardly as well. There’s no need to impress anywhere here, no need to wonder whether he’ll be taken seriously. No one to tell him he’s too young, too reckless, or too damaged. No reason to wear a suit and a forbidding expression either. Here, he can just _be_. He smiles at himself in the mirror, lopsided and natural, and grins even wider as the light glints off his nose ring.

Time to relax. Nathan grabs a scotch from the sideboard settles himself on the couch. Remote in one hand, he kicks his feet up on the coffee table and turns on the X Games. It feels good to look and feel like the nonconformist adrenaline junkie he really is, instead of the pencil-pusher he plays more and more often at work these days. He leans back and sips his drink as the latest and greatest snowboarder does a complicated trick on the half pipe. He counts the rotations, tallies what he thinks the score will be in the back of his mind, and then switches to thinking about the off-site lab he’s currently putting together in his basement. He’ll need to get a few more supplies this weekend…

After a while, he switches to watching a movie, something French with a lot of dirty scenes. As the girl on the screen bears her pert little breasts and holds out her hand to the curly-haired male lead, he smiles. He likes this. He enjoys embracing all of the little idiosyncrasies, quirks, and incongruities that make him who he is. He likes expensive Scotch, pretentious European erotica films, decidedly unprofessional nose piercings, rock music (the louder the better), extreme sports (the more dangerous the better), extreme driving (the faster the better), and just generally risky behavior. He’s so eclectic because he’s so easily bored, including with his current role as Director of GD. It’s sort of annoying sometimes, how nobody knows him deep down. But he’s proud of the success this façade has gotten him, and it’s not like he _doesn’t_ like the silky-smooth feel of his expensive suits and the reaction his authoritative presence gets. He _certainly_ likes it…a lot. He just wishes he could play against type a little more these days.

Nathan has always sacrificed his personal interests for his career – from dressing professionally in order to look older when he attended MIT at 17, to never dating around much so he could focus on his work instead, to never letting anybody see the nose ring and band t-shirts or the guitar in his closet because his career is so tied to how he’s perceived. And sure, he _can_ be cold, calculating, and authoritative. But he’s _also_ playful, rebellious, creative, and caring. In the end, Nathan just wants to be free to work the way he wants to – no boredom, and no rules.

Everyone dreams about something. Nathan dreams about getting _messy_. Blending the professional and the personal, obliterating the lines. Everyone sees his alpha male persona at work and lusts after it, and sure it’s a confidence boost, but that isn’t quite what makes Nathan Stark feel sexy. No, Nathan feels sexiest taking risks. Driving his car way too fast down the back roads of Eureka. Going toe to toe with angry military brass. Wearing his red nose ring, a smirk, and not much else. He takes another swig of his drink and leans his head back on the couch. Closing his eyes, he lets himself dream. He’s lying back, nose ring in and hair messy, lips swollen from kissing someone who really turns him on. He’s got a smile on is face a mile wide, and he’s stroking his own abs while some sandy blonde sucks his cock…blue eyes flashing…Sheriff’s badge forgotten on the floor… _fuck_.

He didn’t mean for that to happen. Nathan sits bolt upright, suddenly angry. That’s been happening a lot lately, his mind straying to the town Sheriff, and it’s really starting to grate on him. He realizes his nerves are more frequently frayed these days, and clenches a fist in irritation. Suddenly, he needs to _move_. Turning off the TV, he strips off his shirt and goes downstairs to punch it out on his gym bag. All his pent up energy has to go somewhere, and since there’s no one to yell at right now and he doesn’t feel like driving, this will have to do. He lets the frenzy carry him away, hitting harder and harder with each jab. He only stops when his knuckles are torn and his forehead is bleeding from accidentally connecting with the chain. Exhausted and angry, he throws himself into bed without a shower.

***

That night, all hell breaks loose. Sometime around 2am, there’s a loud banging on Nathan’s door. At first, he turns over and tries to ignore it. But it only gets louder and more persistent. With a growl, he throws off the covers and gets up to investigate. As he gets closer, he realizes he can hear a voice.

“Stark! Open up!”

It’s Carter’s voice. With a growl, Nathan wrenches open the door.

“What?” he spits, venomous. There’s dried blood from the cut caked above his eyebrow, he’s sweaty and shirtless, he’s got a semi from sleeping, and his skinny jeans are rumpled and sticking to him from all the sweat, so he’s sure it shows, and there Jack Carter is, _staring_.

“ _What_ , Carter?” Nathan asks again. He’s irritated. “It’s late,” he growls, narrowing his eyes and putting on his best glower. No one disturbs Nathan Stark in his home damn it, and certainly not in the middle of the damn night!

“Sorry,” Carter shakes his head comically. He’s still staring at something, and Nathan is beyond annoyed.

Carter continues, “It’s just…Nathan Stark wearing a nose ring.” He throws up his hands and shrugs. “Not something I’d ever thought I’d see.”

Nathan’s heart drops to his stomach and he feels his metaphorical hackles rise.

“Not that it isn’t flattering,” Carter continues. “Actually it works for you. Like, _really_ works for you,” he ducks his head, seemingly embarrassed.

Nathan is now both incensed and turned on. Not the safest combination for him. He takes a breath. That Jack Carter should be the first one to see his nose ring is almost criminal, and yet, somehow, extremely fitting. The man has always known him better, challenged him harder, and seen through more of his bullshit than anyone else. Hell, he understood Callister…with that taken into account, Jack Carter just might know him better than anyone he’s ever met. Nathan thinks back to his fantasy from earlier and leers.

“Sheriff Carter,” he drawls. “What a surprise. Want to come in?”

He steps back and holds the door open, waiting. He makes sure the porch light catches the glint of the red titanium ring as he moves. Nathan Stark is nothing if not an opportunist.

Jack Carter swallows and after a moment says, “Yeah. Okay. I’ll come in. Just for a minute.” He seems to have forgotten the reason he was banging on Nathan’s door at 2am just a moment ago, and frankly, Nathan no longer cares. Alison or Henry can deal with it. He has more pressing interests.

“Welcome,” he drawls, smiling wide and predatory as he guides Carter inside with a hand. Carter’s bright blue eyes are round and clouded with lust. He hasn’t taken his eyes off Nathan once during their exchange. Yup, Nathan thinks. This is going to be good. And whatever disaster Eureka is facing can wait until morning, because the _real_ Nathan Stark is about to get laid. _Fuck yeah_. He fingers the nose ring with one hand and closes the door on the world outside. They’re already moving toward one another before it even swings shut. _Yes_ , Nathan thinks, this is _happening_ , and goes for it.


End file.
